Egypt identifies three Italian consulate bombers

Cairo, July 14 (IANS/AKI) Egyptian authorities have released the names and photos of three militants who they allege carried out the bombing at Italy’s consulate in Cairo at the weekend, according to a media report.

The three suspects were named as Tariq Abdul Sattar, Hussein Barakat and Hassan Samir, according to the Youm7 daily’s website. Sattar and Barakat are from Beni Suef, south of Cairo, while Samir is from Fayyum governorate, southwest of the Egyptian capital, the report said.

The trio have close ties to Egypt’s Sinai province affiliate of the Islamic State militant group, which claimed the July 11 attack on the Italian mission in central Cairo, leaving one killed and four injured.

The militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (champions of Jerusalem), is responsible for a string of deadly attacks in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula that have killed scores of people amid efforts by the Egyptian military to quell unrest in Sinai through a military crackdown.

The group has been involved in suicide bombings, drive-by shootings, assassinations and beheadings.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis was an Al Qaeda-inspired group that started its operations immediately after the January 2011 uprising that led to the fall of Egypt’s long-serving ruler Hosni Mubarak.

The group was initially known for launching attacks on Israeli targets and interests.